Working as a Virtual Assistant

Wouldn’t it be nice not have to work. But as some of us have to work what better job than being a Virtual Assistant, we get to work from home. We get to work the hours we want to, we can wear what we like for work if we are not seeing clients, we can even do our work in PJs. We can schedule our day to suite us and our own way of working. We can listen to music while we work.

The reason lots of people want to become a Virtual Assistant (VA) is because they think it will give you more time to spend at home with your new-born, small children and families. In reality if you have a full business of clients then your spare time is spent doing the admin work that is required to keep your business going. You don’t just to the actual work but you do the business administration as well. You have to continually market your company, your books need to be kept up to date, you need to advertise to show other businesses that you are out there and also need to get potential clients attention.

You have to work and meet deadlines. Most of the work we get in is deadline related and that can mean long hours, working weekends and public holidays. A deadline must be met, simple as that. Our work does not stop like corporate hours and this is not the sort of business you can run on corporate hours, it simply want work. You have to be here as your clients demands to a certain extent.

 

We work hard as VAs as we have to meet deadlines but at least with working long hours we are working from our own virtual offices and do not have to travel backward and forward to and from work at all hours.

I love the fact that I don’t have to travel far to work every day, it takes me a minute to get to my desk and the best part is I don’t have to clear my desk every night because the cleaning ladies will be coming into the office at night. I can simply leave my desk exactly as I left it and pick up again in the morning.

I am glad in the winter when it’s cold that I don’t have to travel on a very cold bus for an hour or more to get to work and even in the summer when it is too hot on the bus as its hot outside, and there was nothing worse than coming home and getting off the bus in a thunder storm and have to run home to get out of the rain. Now I can sit and work even though there is heck of a thunder storm outside. I can sit in my office working and look out of the window at the storm and know I am warm and dry inside.

If you work in a corporate office you have to invest in working clothes. As we work from home offices we can choose our dress clothes and only really have to wear and dress nicely if we are seeing clients. We can dress casual and be comfortable working in any weather when working from home.

I don’t think there is any job which matches working for yourself, working from home; it must be one of the best jobs to have.

 

 

What is a Virtual Assistant?

Being a Virtual Assistant is about running your own business. Owning your own business, you are not working for someone else. You are not an employee, therefore, you do not use a CV, instead you use a company profile, your website, Linked in, Facebook etc.

You are a business owner, your own boss. You do not work for clients, you work with clients, you do not work for other VAs, you subcontract to other VAs or you can work as an associate in a multi VA practice.

 

 

I find a lot of people who want to become Virtual Assistants actually have no idea what a Virtual Assistant is and what we do. We are service companies; we offer our skills and experiences to clients. We work as any business does but we have to do our own bookkeeping, administration, marketing, advertising, networking, fixing our own office equipment etc. We run our business like every other small business, doing the same tasks.

 

If you would like more information about Virtual Assistants in South Africa please contact me at amftyping@mweb.co.za or alison@amftypinh.co.za

Definition of a Virtual Assistant, from: AMF Typing Services

A Virtual Assistant is a person who works for many clients, providing office administration tasks, communicates with clients via telephone, email, Skype; we may never meet our clients face to face.

A person who works independently from his/her own virtual office.

An office administration person, with at least 10 years of office experience as a PA/Secretary or Office Manager.

A person who can work alone.

A person with exceptional time management and prioritisation skills.

Someone who can run an office and liaise with clients on an ongoing basis.

Someone with a bit of management experience can learn quickly and who is at ease with software.

We have to be pro-active and assertive, and friendly.

Virtual Assistants are Business Owners, who run their own companies, do their own marketing, networking, bookkeeping etc.

Becoming a Virtual Assistant is a career choice within a worldwide industry.

 

 

NEW: Weekly Post - Questions and Answers

Question subject: Reaching Deadlines

Question: How do I reach deadlines?

 

Answer: You can reach deadlines by knowing how long tasks take and what is involved with doing them. Do practice runs before you open your business, experiment with how long it takes you to do the tasks you are going to offer. Know how long it takes you to transcribe a 1 hour file, how long it takes to type up 20 pages of basic copy typing, know how long it takes you to set up Facebook for a new client. Run examples and note down how long tasks take. 

When you feel a deadline is not reachable, negotiate, you will be doing the work, so only you will know how long it takes to complete. It is up to you as a business owner to tell your client ‘this deadline is unreal’ and to explain what is involved within the job. Many clients have no idea how long a particular job will take. They will give you very unreasonable deadlines. Only you know what you are capable of and what your limits are. This is often a problem with Transcription, the clients do not know how long it actually takes to transcribe and often the deadlines are tight but it is up to you, as you are doing the job to negotiate this with the client, not the client to set this deadline for you. Simply explain what is involved.

I would love to have your comments if you feel you would like to comment, please do, as I would like to put your answers with your contact details onto my blog, it gives you a bit of exposure. amftyping@mweb.co.za or alison@amftyping.co.za

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Question subject: Motivation

 

 
 

Question: What keeps you motivated while running your own business?

 

Answer: What keeps me motivated is knowing that my marketing is working and has kept on working since I started my business. Every time I have an enquiry about my business I can see that my business details are out there and being seen. It is motivating for me to get up every day and come to work as I love my job and I never know what each day will bring, every day in my job is different.

 

I would love to have your comments if you feel you would like to comment, please do, as I would like to put your answers with your contact details onto my blog, it gives you a bit of exposure. amftyping@mweb.co.za or Alison@amftyping.co.za

 

 

T is for Tavasa Forum - VA Tips and Tricks Blogging Challenge

T A V A S A - The Transcriptionists and Virtual Assistants of South Africa

Our group was founded in October 2008 by Gaynor Paynter from Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services cc, Cell: +27834424689, Web: www.typewritetranscription.co.za and Alison Fourie from AMF Typing Services cc, Cell: +270828713452, Web: www.amftyping.co.za. Tavasa was formed as there was a need for a VA/Transcriptionist support group within South Africa.

•           We provide support for people in our industries

•           We bring together a group of professionals who can support each other

•           We advertise job leads and subcontractor positions on the Tavasa forum, you are welcome to apply, see link above

•           We share our VA and Transcription knowledge with you

Because we like to have immediate access to queries that arise from our members, and because many people in South Africa still find it easier to access email on a regular basis as opposed to accessing an internet browser regularly, our main means of communication is an yahoo group online, email discussion forum, and you can join our group at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/tavasa/ free membership.

Our aim is the promote the Transcriptionists and Virtual Assistants industry within South Africa and to guide new Transcriptionists and Virtual Assistants to set up their businesses within the industry.

You will feel by belonging to our forum you have now joined the South Africa family of VAs and Transcriptionists within South Africa. All questions are welcome and we would love you to participate and meet everyone. No questions are too stupid to ask as there will always be someone wanting to ask that question. Join us. Send us an introduction email telling everyone what you do, if you are married or single, have children, what services you offer, how you feel about working from home, you will get lots of response saying welcome, our team is very friendly.

I invite you to join our forum: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/tavasa/ free membership.

Tavasa · The Transcriptionists and Virtual Assistants of South Africa

Website: http://www.tavasa.co.za

Join our yahoo group, online email forum ‘Tavasa’ free membership.

To join go to: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/tavasa/

Tavasa Blog · http://tavasa.blogspot.com/

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014 - G is for Growing your Business

Everybody and everything needs to grow and so your company needs to grow. It is through continual marketing, advertising and networking that your business will grow. You can’t just open up your business and start to work; it does not work like that, ‘You have to do the work to get the work’. Marketing, advertising and networking is always going to be a major part of the life of your business.

You need to grow your client database to bring in enough work to make a profit. Businesses must run making profits otherwise what is the point. Your rates need to be enough that they cover your expenses and that there is a bit left over for profit. You don’t want to just break-even you need to make profits to survive. If you charge low rates and you won’t be in business for long. Often VAs think that if they charge low rates they will draw in many clients, do you want the types of clients that go for the low rates or do you want the type of client that pays you well and appreciates what you and they become regular clients and they know you are a valuable resource to them.

As we grow we need to make sure that our advertising material grows with us. Update your material often, don’t just send out the same advert over and over, create something new each time, maybe boast about a new product you learnt, or a new client you have just got, advertise a new skill you have just learnt, maybe you have joined a new group advertise it., you could interest others to join that group. Send advertisements out regularly.

The same with your website change it often, your website should not look the same today as when you started out, your website grows with you, keep it fresh, updated and keep up with current website trends. If you add new content to your site send out an advert advertising it, send out on your social media platforms and invite people to your site to check it out.

Our businesses have to grow for us to achieve anything, the same as we need to keep up with technology, technology changes all the time, so do we, never let your business go stagnant no matter how busy you are, keep it fresh and ongoing.

I don’t need to advertise for clients, but I do need to advertise to show that I am still in business. Your business name must always be out there to be seen.

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014 - G is for Good News

As VAs the best thing we can receive is good news. Often good news comes in the form of a new client. We spent weeks doing marketing and advertising and then one day the phone rings and someone is enquiring about virtual assistant services. As you answer the phone and you are asked can you assist, the first thing you do is panic, and I think every VA does this the first few times, till you get used to it.

 

This is when you have to come across as being very confident and you need to know what you are talking about. As the client asks you can you assist, you can start to ask questions about what the client requires you to do. Ask as many questions that come into your head. What you can do to be prepared for this by having a list of questions ready by you for that ‘just in case a client calls time’. Have a list of questions ready for the services that you are going to offer so that you ask the right questions. When you have asked all your questions start to get to know the client, ask them about what they do, what is their company called, do they have a company website, ask can they send you a company brochure.

 

Show interest in the client and not just at the task at hand. Be enthusiastic and let it show it in your voice. Clients love a friendly approach, it shows that you have confidence in what you are doing and offering. Don’t be shy to offer the client advice if you think your advice can help them further. Have a one minute speech on hand to explain what a virtual assistant does and how we can assist clients. Don’t make it any longer than 1 minute as phone calls cost money, you don’t want to preach about the industry, but, you do want to get the point across how we can assist the client.

Once you get your first client usually many follow. It is just getting that one client to call. If you have done all your marketing and advertising, been out networking and networking online you should hear good news soon.

'Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond.'

Hunter S. Thompson

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014 - F is for Forward

Don’t look back but go forward. When something is done, it’s time to move on, put it behind you and move onto the next thing. As VAs we continually must move forward. When we start out our journey to become Virtual Assistants we have to keep going forward to achieve what we set out to achieve and that is to become successful VAs, with a full client list and to be working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, that is our goal. We have many hitches along the way but we pick ourselves up again and move forward each time. No job is plain sailing; there are always obstacles in our way. 

An easy way forward is to do things in steps, take things one step at a time, we can’t do everything, but, we can achieve little things as we go along and using steps to do things makes it simpler and not as overwhelming as we think things are. I know it’s very overwhelming to start up a VA business.

When you start your business and you don't have any clients and with marketing and a positive attitude you can look for clients and when you find 1 or more you go forward. From nothing to something is going forward. From earning nothing to earning something is going forward. Earning small to more is forward. A sustained business is going forward and growing it, is going forward. Your life from nothing to something is going forward, something for you to think about:

Quote:

Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.”  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014 E is for The Early Bird always catches the Worm

My philosophy has always been ‘get in first’, ‘be ahead of the crowd’, and to ‘stand out from my peers’ and I do just that in South Africa. I go by the phrase ‘An early Bird always catches the Worm’ and I do. I have always had clients contacting me all the time and always found it easy to talk the client into using my services at my price rather than go to the next VA down the line. If I want a job I will go all out to get that job, I will convince the client of how good and how I am able to assist. My office has a continuous flow of typing and my main service that I offer clients is Typing. If it can be typed I can do it. I am very old school and I find that saying this to clients helps draw them to using my services.

 

 

I started out wanting to run a typing company and never thought I would get to this point, but I’ve done it and proved that you can run a company just doing typing. I know where to look for my clients, if I want to take on more clients, I know how to get clients and am not afraid to sell my services and tell clients how good I am at what I do.

I answer emails fasts, as an email comes in and I see that it’s from a prospective client I then quickly respond, clients are impressed with a fast response, they want a VA who is pro-active and assertive.

I love the variety that I get with typing. You would think typing would be boring, typing the same thing over and over, yet I don’t I have such a variety in typing from PowerPoint presentations to graphs, tables, charts, and graphics. This is the job I always wanted to do.

 

Be like me and be the early bird that catches the worm. The faster you respond the better chance to get the prospective client.

VA Tips & Tricks Blogging Challenge 2014 - D is for Dogs

My office companions are my dogs Shaggy and Scooby. They are always with me in my office. They hurry into the office on a morning, so that the first one in, can lie under the desk. There is usually one under the desk and the other either at the side of my chair or behind my chair. Both dogs will stand and growl at each other to argue who gets to be under the desk.

The one thing that Shaggy does not like is when other’s come into my office. He thinks this is his space and mine and nobody else must be in here. He can be very naughty when I have office guests.

Shaggy has eaten and chewed my clients work a few times now (very embarrassing). The papers fall to the floor without us noticing it and when we come to look for the page, here it is on the floor chewed in bits, it’s a favourite hobby of Shaggy.

 

While we are busy working he will find something to eat and chew from the office, the carpet is mainly his target for chewing, just to be naughty as it means I must talk to him and give him attention while I am busy.

With the dogs being in the office it gives me someone to talk to during the day. I talk my frustration of the day out to the dogs. To me if I had someone in my office I would talk to them so the dogs are here, so I talk to them. If I need to work something out, say build a graphic I will talk to myself how I am going to do it and to me I am not talking to myself I’m talking to the dogs. Does anyone identify with this or is it just me. Some people have cats for company in the office, I have my dogs. Shaggy has took it upon himself to go where I go, he follows me everywhere during the day. I have had to pull my blinds up so that both dogs can watch out of the office window, the blinds are pulled up to above Shaggy’s head so that he does not damage them as he looks through the window, they love looking outside and watching down the street.

My trusty faithful dogs who listen to my daily moans and groans as I work are great company. I never feel alone at work, as I always have the dogs around.

 

 

Social Media

Years ago when VAs started out working from home they used to advertise office administration, typing and transcription as their services, today there is many more services you can offer clients. One of these services is Social Media. It is important for every business no matter how big or small to be part of social media. Cell Phones, Tablets and IPads are all centred around Social Media, being part of it is part of doing business in the world today.

You have had to set up your own business and have to include Social Media in as part of your networking and marketing so why not offer this service to potential clients, especially to new businesses/entrepreneurs etc. You have learnt enough through doing this for your business to have the experience in it to offer it as a service.
You can offer it on a package basis or on an hourly rate. You can offer social media, or offer it in separate services like Twitter or Facebook etc. You can log into your clients twitter account on a daily basis or every other day and set up tweets ahead of time, interact on behalf of your client with like minded businesses on twitter, the same with Facebook, Linked In etc. You could offer a package for social medial including all 3 the most popular social media platforms which are Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.

Today a lot of company's/businesses networking is done by joining groups within Facebook, Linked In etc. Being part of forums online. You network and interact with people and build up friendships and relationships. Networking is not about selling your project, its about building relationships with likeminded people in the same business as you and maybe business can come from this.

It is a great service to offer clients as its a much in demand service today. People cannot do business today without belonging somehow to social media.

 



Naming your Business and finding a company logo

One of the most interesting tasks to do when you open up a new VA business, is to give your business a name. Your business name needs to reflect what you are doing, what your business is about. Once you find that name use that name as your website domain name, your user name. You need your business name to be memorable, something that people will connect with you straight away. I am AMF Typing Services and everywhere you will see me using the user name 'amftyping' its short and easy to use and immediately it can be connected with my company name. Make your name unique to you.
Another great task is finding or creating a logo to suit your company name, I choose a typewriter as it matches my company and user name and my main company function is typing so the typewriter is very apt. You can play around with your initials, find a good graphic and play around with it making it unique to your business. It took me a few different logo's before I came up with this one, I played around with my initials for a while coming up with different combinations.  You dont need fancy graphic software to do a logo, you can do many things just playing around in powerpoint or word. Make sure you feel comfortable with the name and logo you choose.